i didn’t write for about two weeks, because of several reasons…i’m kinda struggling in this, but i’ll try to write again…

today’s lesson is so simple…from first verse…

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. This is the way our Savior God wants us to live. -1 Tim 2:1-3 [MSG]

Paul said, the first thing to do is pray… yeah, i suppose everyone knows that already, because it’s said that prayer is the breathe of believers…in everything, we have to start with prayers…not just 5 times a day, in the morning to start the day, at night before sleeping, and before three meals…but actually prayer should be our lifestyle, in everything, everytime, everywhere we should pray, keep in touch with God…

prayer doesn’t mean that we have to kneel down, close our eyes, or any other pose that may have been taught to us since we were kids…it’s said here, pray every way you know how…so it’s not limited to only one kind of “ritual” like i mentioned, but we can pray in any way, even when we’re driving our cars to work, taking the train to school, riding our bike, we can still pray…the essential thing is just communicating with God…God is in each of us, so to communicate with Him is so simple, just imagine He’s beside you, and talk to Him like you talk to your best friend…

and one more thing in these verse, pray for everyone you know…not only for 3 persons, I, me, and myself…or not only for our (future) life-partner, our family, our best friends, but everyone, includes people we don’t like (it still includes in the term “everyone you know”, right?)…it’s stated about praying for rulers and governments…i know so many people aren’t satisfied with their bosses in their company, their teachers at school, and also their governments…but we have to pray for them also, not just complaining, grumbling, but pray…i know it’s hard, but that’s the way of life God wants us to do…i’m also still learning to do it…let’s have Holy Spirit help us to humble ourselves, and teach us how to pray for them…God bless…

The sinful mixing of a little good with something bad to corrupt the truth of God is not something that is new. In the days in which the Holy Spirit was inspiring the Words which make up the New Testament, an “antichrist” spirit was at work spreading falsehoods. (I John 4:3)

For example, “good works” are, Scripturally, good things (Ephesians 2:10), but they do not save souls (Ephesians 2:8-9). Angels are worthy of respect (Jude v. 8), but they are not to be worshiped (Colossians 2:18). Likewise, it is a good thing to be a “saint” (Philippians 4:21-22), but we should never pray to them (I Timothy 2:5).

The devil, throughout history, has found fertile ground in subtly substituting man-based theories of righteousness for the God-centered Truth of Scripture. Even today, there are those who stand on proclamations of faith while invoking praises to themselves among their followers. These are those who shake out their coats, causing audience-members to swoon and faint as if overcome with the power of God. Some call down “healing” on the same followers week after week for the amusement of the crowds. Among such, the ability to raise the dead is thought to be proof of the highest level of faith.

Certainly Christ Himself has this power. However, the true measurement of faith is not an ability to impress men with spiritual gifts. It is the realization of our sin, compared to God’s holiness, while somehow yet receiving by faith the fact that He loves His true children unconditionally. The following passage of Scripture shows the attitude of the apostle Peter when he encountered Jesus Christ:

And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.

Luke 5:5-8

And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.

Luke 5:11

The breadcrumb trail leads to a single prayer. The cards that built the house fell from a detached prayer making its lone journey years before. A collection of words born in the heart of a man, like a bouquet of flowers thrown up to the heavens, they are fashioned and clothed. Words that come from the heart, not perfect, not clever, not attention seeking and not pious. A prayer birthed on the lips of a congregation, a community with a resource of power rarely used. Prayer more effective than shaking angry fists, more transformative than campaigning for reform. Prayer a collection of drops that make a storm, teas spoons of matter that created the earth poured out from a bag of prayer.

Prayer, the oldest conversation to have existed. Before time began, before my heart thumped, there was prayer. Before I came into being He prayed for me, to me, in me. Prayer the longest dinner conversation, the broken bread and the sipped wine dipped into prayer.

My life needs wrapping, like a Christmas present, in prayer paper. A gift, all this life can cope with. A gift to all around. That somehow. In some way. Life. Will. Connect.

Prayer, nature has always maintained that relationship. The seasons pray, the tides pray, the hibernating slumbers pray as do the flocks of migrating birds. In the DNA of every breath is a prayer. The universe breathes and prays.

Here is a great article by Ben Witherington on women in ministry.  This guy has really done his homework and I really think he comes to some real reasonable conclusions.

http://blog.beliefnet.com/bibleandculture/2009/10/why-arguments-against-women-in-ministry-arent-biblical.html

You have probably heard the expression, “Life is short.” In one sense, it is. No one will live forever in this world. However, in eternity, everyone will consciously exist forever. Do you know what your eternal existence will be like, and, if your answer is yes, upon what are you basing that knowledge? The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is the only Mediator between God and man (I Timothy 2:5). If this is true, then it is absolutely crucial that you know Him personally. You will spend eternity in the presence of God. The presence of God through His Mediator will be absolute bliss, blessedness, and joy. (Revelation 21:1-7) The presence of God without His Mediator will be unbearable torment. (Revelation 14:10)

If I’m praying for something, why should I ask you to pray for it, too?  Or ten others?  Or hundreds of others?

When it comes to ministry to the political community, 1 Timothy 2:1-4 is a prayer commanded to all who are followers of Christ:

First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.  This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

If you and I follow that call to pray, is our obedience complete?  Is it at all important that we remind others to pray for the same thing?  Is God likely to answer quicker or with more intensity if a larger number of people are praying for any given item?  Why share prayer requests with a growing circle of people in the first place?

Anytime we have questions about the nature of prayer, there has to be a willingness to accept the fact that answers may not be as clear-cut as we like.  The scriptures teach us some things about prayer, but in the end God is the only One who can possibly understand final outcomes.  That said, are there any objective answers to these questions above?

Without pretending to know all of God’s mind on this, here are a five things I do know:

1)  The command to pray for our leaders in 1 Timothy 2 is for all believers.  God wants a large quantity of prayer on this particular request.

2)  Faith is still the deciding factor in any prayer being heard and answered.  “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” Hebrews 11:6.

3)  This request, as with all prayer, can be made in a wrong way.  “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures“  James 4:3.

4)  There are verses that emphasize the power of many people praying for the same thing.  “you also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many“  2 Corinthians 1:11.

5)  We still can’t discount the effectiveness of the faith-filled prayer poured out from a single pure heart.  “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed.  The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much“  James 5:16.

What a priviledge to pray for those who lead us, and what a serious thing it is.  What a responsibility they bear and what guidance they need from God.  We should be encouraged that the Lord hears the prayer of faith from us individually, but we should not stop reminding one another to obey the call to lift our voices corporately for the same purposes.  The wonder is that we are allowed to communicate with The Holy One at all.

We must stay expectant and faithful as we pray for leaders’ hearts, both individually and as a Church.  How God chooses to answer is totally up to Him.

Senator Ted Kennedy (1932-2009)

The news is full of remembrances of Senator Edward Kennedy, who died yesterday of a brain tumor.  As I listened to dozens of politicians, friends, media members and others share their recollections of “The Lion of the Senate”, one in particular stood out.  It was from Cal Thomas, the syndicated columnist.

Thomas, who was a polar opposite from Kennedy on most political issues, had fascinating things to say and write about his decades-old relationship with the senator.  On his website, he writes: “Over the years, I came to see Sen. Kennedy not as a symbol, but as a fellow human being who did not get up each morning seeking ways to harm the country. I know of things he did for the poor and homeless on his own time and in his own way without a press release or a desire for public approval. I know of other hurts and concerns he shared with the very few he could trust about which I would never speak.”  (Read the full article here)

Cal Thomas

On a sidebar of the same homepage, Thomas added, “I wonder how many Christian conservatives took the time to pray for Ted Kennedy.” This isn’t just a casual thought by Thomas.  I had the chance earlier this year to have breakfast with Cal at an Arlington, Virginia diner.  Over omelets, he told of his testimony of faith in Christ and the opportunities he has had through the years to share it with many in the political and media spheres.  Some of the people he mentioned are hated by political conservatives (some of whom are Christians).  So when Cal Thomas says he wonders who prayed for Senator Kennedy, he means it and he’s not being hypocritical.

Let Kennedy’s passing remind us all to pray “for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:2-4).  Let us also pray that other leaders will consider their own mortality, realizing that “it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

An article by former president Jimmy Carter earlier this month in a British newspaper again confirms the need to pray for our leaders in government and importance of fidelity to the Scriptures.  In the article, Carter resigns from the Southern Baptist Convention, something he has done several times in the past dating back to 2000.  It’s a curious recurring action since no individual can hold membership in the SBC, but he resigns every few years anyway.

Carter’s main beef right now is the SBC’s statement on gender roles and his arguments reveal a view of the Bible that naturally leads to his conclusions.  He begins the piece by quoting first from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 2) which ensures all rights and freedoms regardless of status.  Then he quotes Galatians 3:28 which says “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”  

For Carter, and many others who share his view, these truths are incompatible with defining separate roles for men and women.  Any other verses from Paul’s writings that clarify the definition of gender roles in the church or home are not to be rigidly followed or taken as authoritative.   According to Carter, “quoting a few carefully selected Bible verses and claiming that Eve was created second to Adam and was responsible for original sin, ordained that women must be “subservient” to their husbands and prohibited from serving as deacons, pastors or chaplains in the military service. . . was in conflict with my belief – confirmed in the holy scriptures – that we are all equal in the eyes of God.” (Click here for the full column)

The point of this post is not to discuss the domestic or ministerial role of women, but to defend Paul’s writings as the inspired Word of God which do not present an inconsistency here.  Letting God speak for Himself through the Bible allows one to see the complementary nature of different passages which are completely reconcilable with one another.

In thinking of the Paphos Paradigm, the government official, Sergius Paulus, was amazed at the teaching of the Lord through Paul and believed (Acts 13:12).  Jimmy Carter does not believe in the inerrancy of Scripture, along with many others in our world.  For this reason the church should take seriously the responsibility to pray for the spiritual eyes of leaders to be opened to the authority of God’s Word and to be active in making this teaching available in the political sphere (1 Timothy 4:1-4).

Jesus’ mandate to His Church in Matthew 28 is to teach others to observe all He commands through His Word, not to hold the Scriptures to the standards of our human reason.

I haven’t actually done the math on this, but I once saw how the middle verse in the Bible was calculated.  Its message is a powerful statement in how to view our relationship to government.

Psalm 117 is the shortest chapter in the Bible and Psalm 119 is the longest.  In between them, Psalm 118 is the center chapter of the Bible.  There are 594 chapters before Psalm 118 and 594 chapters after.  Add that together and you’ll get 1188.  So what is the center verse in the Bible?  Psalm 118:8 which says, “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man“.

I don’t look for mystical messages in numerology but this verse, whether the center of the Bible or not, gives us crucial direction in our world.  I regularly hear Christians express deep worry over the political trends in our nation and around the world.  I see political action groups who call themselves Christian send out mailings that communicate that people in government are our biggest threat and people who vote (and send in generous donations) are the only hope for our society.  Many in the church have bought into a crisis mode in which God doesn’t seem to be on the throne at all.

All who follow Christ must take care to internalize Psalm 118:8; not only give it lip service but truly believe it and let it shape our attitudes and actions toward human government.  When we place too much trust in ourselves or other people, we are worshiping the created more than the Creator (Romans 1:25).  

This will clearly impact our prayer lives.  With confirmation hearings, pending legislation and the general thrust of any newscast swirling in our minds and tempting us to despair (and worse, ultimately trust in mankind for solutions) we must give that to God. 

Truly trusting Him means consistently being in contact with Him and when it comes to expressing anxiety about our world and our leaders, praying how He has told us to.  “Kings and all who are in authority” are to be a regular part of our prayers (I Timothy 2:1-4).  Pray for their wisdom and guidance, but always include petitions for their souls.  Where they spend eternity will always be more important than how they vote now.

For when Herod had John arrested, he bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip.  For John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” (Matthew 14:3, 4)

Politics and illicit sex.  They’ve been side-by-side since God instituted human government.  Abraham forced his wife, Sarah, to say she was his sister (two separate times!) because he knew the pagan rulers would kill him to claim her sexually because she was “a beautiful woman”.  Egypt’s Pharaoh (Genesis 12:10-20) and Gerar’s Abimelech (Genesis 20:1-18) both took Sarah into their houses and both received a big surprise when they found out she was married, but we can see it was still common to take women they wanted.

Samson, an Israelite judge, visited a prostitute (Judges 16:1).  David infamously took Bathsheba as his wife and had her husband killed (2 Samuel 11:2-21).  In Solomon’s palace one would be hardpressed to find a room or corridor that didn’t contain a wife or concubine (1 Kings 11:3).    

Then there was Herod the tetrarch from the verses above.  He was sleeping with his brother’s wife.  When John the Baptist called him on the carpet for that, Herod had John thrown into prison and eventually had him beheaded.

What can the Church learn from all this and what is its responsibility to these leaders who are still falling centuries later?  John the Baptist’s example is one worth following, I believe.  The condemnation of Herod’s impurity was not all John said to him.  John’s message always centered on repentance and turning to God, and we can be sure he confronted Herod with the same words.  As he did that, John also spoke up for right living and gave the tetrarch an example of sin he should turn away from.

Should we do that?  Why not?  The Scriptures are the judge, not us.  Speaking the truth to power doesn’t have to be done harshly or hatefully, but with a goal of repentance and recognition that God’s Word should be obeyed from those whose hearts love Him and have been changed by the gospel.   It’s not wrong to point out areas of weakness and failure.  Obviously, today’s immorality may not be as public as Herod’s nor is infidelity the only sin that must be confronted.

Our world would call this over the top.  Too judgemental.  But ask yourself a couple of questions if you follow Christ:  Is it possible we keep seeing this marital cheating in our leaders because the Church is not showing the way morally in our land?  I’m not talking about pushing a moral legislative agenda, but actually living moral lives ourselves for the nation to see that there’s a different value system for believers, then having the moral authority to speak up for right living.  And are we in prayer for our leaders’ marriages or their temptations and thought lives (1 Timothy 2:1-4)?

Maybe we just expect politicians to cheat, so why try to change it?  Because with every act of infidelity, with every press conference to announce the latest moral implosion, God’s glory is not seen.  The Church shouldn’t try to get government officials to repent of sin to make us feel better or maybe, just maybe, get that law passed that we care about so dearly.  The Church should be bringing the gospel to its leaders, praying for their salvation and desiring their deeper spiritual growth because God is great and must be seen as more beautiful than anything else in this world.

Let your representatives know you are praying.  Then really PRAY.  Offer to meet with them and get to know them.  Adopt one as a local church or small group.  Get into their lives to express this kind of care.  Take cookies.  At some point, address eternity and share your testimony.  This may not be John the Baptist’s exact method, but there are several differences between John’s lifestyle and ours.  Did you have locusts for lunch?  What we can do is follow his example of having direct contact with a leader. 

If confronting sin is needed, say what needs to be said.  Calling sin what it is is not judgemental.  It is required if the true gospel is to be shared.  It should be done in love with one end result in view: magnifying God and seeing Him treasured.  I don’t see the Church with a priority like this when it comes to engaging its culture and government.  What is the answer to the title question for this post?  God is the Judge.  The Church must get serious about impacting its leaders with the truth.

OK. So, the phone booth is just an example..

Room at the Cross,  was an old hymn that I remember singing.  I sang it many times before I submitted to the Lord tugging on my heart.  It says there is room at the cross for you, there is room at the cross for you.  Though millions have come, there’s still room for one, Yes there’s room at the cross for you.

Sometime when I am preaching to a familiar crowd, I will not always preach a salvation message.  I taught today about the armor of God as I outlined in this blog the last few weeks.  (Lions, Tigers and Bears,  10 Gauge, The Whole Enchilada, Flesh and Blood, WWE)

It was a familiar crowd and I love teaching like this.  I used a movie clip from the Wizard of Oz.  It was not really a salvation message….several people came up for prayer, well, the alter had about 8 people at one time….and one person wanted to give their life to Christ. 

It just never ceases to amaze me that when the simple message of salvation is given, people respond.   1 Timothy 2:3-4says that God wants all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.  Not  just some, not just most, not just the Methodist, not just the baptist, not just black, not just white, not just Americans…..and as my brother Frank would tell me,…..not just the snake handlers like my church…just kidding… we really don’t…(not that there is anything wrong with that)….  God wants all……all to be saved.

So, you at this blog are a familiar crowd.  I do have thousands of hits on my blog but you are familiar….you are family.  If you do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ…God wants you to be saved.  Just like the person this morning….there is room at the cross for you. 

If you want to come to the knowledge of Jesus Christ….email my personal email  lmercer6@cfl.rr.com

louie

In my email Inbox this morning, I found two messages asking for prayer.  One was a forwarded note focused on 2 Chronicles 7:14, and one was marked “urgent” from a lawyer who will be standing before the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics to defend traditional marriage.  While any call to prayer is encouraging to see, both of these emails caused me to stop and ask myself, “Before I pray, what exactly am I petitioning the Lord for?  What’s the goal of these prayers?”  You can infer from the writers what they would like to see happen, but is that the same thing as what God would want to happen?  After all, aren’t we all concerned that His will be done?

Deep questions for early in the day, I’ll admit, but worthy questions, I think.  I don’t claim to have the answers, either, but I’m trying to wrestle with the content of my prayers for America – are they biblical?  Are they motivated by the heart of God and His priorities?  Again more questions.  Sorry.

I just don’t want the prayer lives of followers of Christ in America to fall in the category of James 4:2, 3 – either failing to pray or praying with misguided motives.

Take the first message.  It quotes a well-known verse: “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land“  (2 Chronicles 7:14).  The rest of the note speaks of the “slippery slope” we’re on in America and our “corruption, greed, moral decay, and a steady move away from the things that made us great.”   It’s a call to pray, yes, and even gives some reasons why we should pray, but I see no specific WHAT here.  Forgiveness and healing are mentioned – a tremendous prayer based on this verse – but again, I still think we can do that with wrong motives and without a clear vision for what our role is beyond the prayer itself.

The second email has a more specific (and urgent) tone.  The Coucil in the District of Columbia recently voted to recognize same-sex marriages from other states and a Referendum has been presented to block that law.  The email is from the lawyer who will make the case for the proponents of the Referendum.  He says, “I am sure you understand how difficult it is to defend this kind of Referendum. It is a huge political and legal challenge.”  I can see the need for the prayer and for the blocking of the law, but I’m left wondering how many well-meaning Christians will consider that fight the end of their relationship with the D.C. Council? 

Do you think Paul ever prayed 2 Chronicles 7:14 for his society?  The passage is pointed to the people of God.  He lived in a corrupt, greedy world that was decaying morally.  Persecution of Christians was very present – much more brutal and violent than what we see in America.  He may have, but we don’t have to speculate on what Paul’s goal was when praying for his government:

¹ First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men,  ² for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. ³ This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, ⁴ who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.    1 Timothy 2:1-4

This isn’t just a call to pray for leaders without specificity.  The motivation and results are clear.  Pray for leaders to get saved.  Pray for them to grow in knowing God and His will (“knowledge of the truth”).  How will that happen?  Well it needs to be part of the Church’s mission – we need to go to them, not with placards of protest but with spiritual care.  Speak the truth of God’s Word into thier lives with Bible studies and one-on-one meetings.  Pray for their hearts to be opened to the gospel.  For believing lawmakers, encourage them in their walk not to compromise God’s principles found in Scripture.

If that approach sounds passive or not militant enough, consider this: there is no more urgent message and it’s the mandate left to the Church by the Lord himself.  “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19, 20).  We decry where we are as a nation now, but where would we be if we had been doing this all along with our government officials in office or before they got to office?

Prayers for leaders are required of God’s people.  They are non-negotiable.  But they must be underpinned with a motivation to see God glorified, not just save our land for our children.  And the goal must not be just a change in laws, but in the hearts of lawmakers.

My sermon from last night on 1 Timothy 2:1-7 has been posted on the church web site….